During America's western expansion in the 19th century, people faced enormous challenges - a time that Millbrook Elementary School fourth-graders explored during a Wild West Festival last week.
"There were a lot of hardships," said Gabi Layfield. "Some people went for adventure. Others went for land or gold. Scouts went ahead to see if it was clear, but some would get hit with arrows."
The program was a culmination of activities that would have connections to that period, said teacher Leah Lewis.
The children enjoyed learning about the history and integrating science into their projects, she said.
"We also read three or four novels, mixing them in with the hands-on projects," Lewis said.
The pioneers faced hardships as they traveled in wagons, Chloe Johnfroe said.
"They had to dump stuff they really wanted to keep when they were crossing rivers," she said. "Most of them had to walk, and it was really scary."
In that context, the children tested how much weight had to be removed from a wagon so that it wouldn't get stuck.
They placed pennies in a plastic "wagon," while it floated in a container filled with water. The stronger the wagon, the more pennies it held without sinking. Some wagons held as many as 60 pennies before going down.
The children also built their own wagons in a wide range of styles.
"It took them a long time," said fourth-grader Cameryn Thomas. "They would have to buy a lot of wood before they took the road west. But an axle could break, and a wheel would fall off. I also heard about the gold rush. A lot of them wanted it, but there wasn't a lot of gold."
Sunday Cozzei, the mother of student Parker Cozzei, said the projects provided a good chance for the kids to take what they learned and implement skills.
"They appreciated what the pioneers went though with all their activities, getting to know, hands-on, about the covered wagons," Cozzei said.
Emily Davis, 10, brought a diary to the event - written in 1965. She and her mother, Cecilia, were amazed when they recently learned about the diary, started by Emily's great-great-great-grandmother, Lula Johnson.
From 1963 to 1973, thousands of people took the re-created venture. Johnson and her husband, Archie, were invited to join friends to travel the Daniel Boone Wagon Train with other people into North Carolina. Her friends provided a wagon and horses.
For the trip, the women sewed long dresses with long sleeves and high necks, in addition to sun bonnets, Johnson wrote in the diary.
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter.